Competition Orchids Introduction

A Group, Cattleya

Cattleya are considered the representative type of orchids in Western countries. The sheer number of Cattleya species and their remarkable beauty make them particularly outstanding. Cattleya truly lives up to its namesake “The King of Orchids”! Cattleya is a sympodial epiphytes

♦ Scientific name: Cattleya

♦ Nomenclature: Named after the Briton William Cattley, who is credited as being the first person to succeed in getting the flowers to bloom.

♦ Place of origin: Central and South America

♦ Genera: Cattleya, Laelia, Brassavola, and Sophronitis

♦ Flowering period: Typically once or twice a year and about ten to thirty days each time

B Group, Paphiopedilum

Paphiopedilum has a wide variety of flowers and shapes. They may be single-flowered or multi-flowered, and their colors range from plain to colorful.

♦ Scientific name: Paphiopedilum. The name is derived from ‘paphos’( a city in Cyprus and is believed to be the birthplace of the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Venus) and ‘pedilon’( Ancient Greek for ‘slipper’), sympodial epiphytes.

♦ Nomenclature: Named for its slipper-shaped labellum.

♦ Place of origin: They are primarily found in Southeast Asia; there are more than 60 natural species.

♦ Genera: (1) Paphiopedilum, originally from Asia. (2) Phragmipedium, originally from Central and South America. (3) Cypripedium, originally from temperate zone in North America, Japan, and Eurasia. Cypripedium also grows in the mountains of Taiwan, and the most famous species is formosanum. (4) Selenipedium, originally from Central and South America.

♦ Flowering period: Varies among species; typically lasts typically lasts for one and two months.

C Group, Phalaenopsis

Phalaenopsis resembles a butterfly. During flowering period, it looks like a cluster of butterflies dancing in the winds when its slightly drooping stem sways. In the orchid world, it is referred to as “The Queen of Orchids”.

♦ Scientific name: The name is derived from the Greek ’phalaena’ (moth) and ’opsis’ (appearance).

♦ Nomenclature: Named for its butterfly-shaped flower.

♦ Place of origin: Distributed primarily throughout humid tropical forests in Southeast Asia; there are more than 50 natural species.

♦ Flowering period: Typically in the spring, but with the help of modern cultivation methods and a stable environment in the greenhouse, the flowers can bloom virtually all year round.

♦ Development: Thanks to the partnerships between breeders and growers. Taiwan has become the leader in the development of Phalaenopsis cultivars. Annual sales and exports are valued at more than NT$ 3 billion. The native species, ‘amabilis’ (locally named “Taiwan grandmothers”) ever won the championships at the international orchid exhibition for two consecutive years. This has made Phal. amabilis world-renowned. Taiwan is also described as the ‘phalaenopsis’Kingdom’ for the quality and quantity of orchids.

D Group, Vanda

The name “Vanda” is derived from Sanskrit “vandaka” which means “growing on the tree”. Chinese name “萬代” is the homonym of “Vanda”. The meaning of “萬代” in Chinese also matches Vanda’s feature of stems growing upward continuously, leaves growing one by one continually, and flowers being big and beautiful. There are about 80 native species in Vanda genus. They mainly distribute in tropical Asia and widespread across India, Himalayas, south China, Taiwan, Okinawa to Philippines, Indonesia and Australia. Their size can vary from ten centimeters tall to over one meter. People started to grow Vanda very early. However, it did not make a hit until 1930s. Now, Vanda has been bred in Europe, America, Japan, and Thailand. Thailand is the center of breeding Vanda in tropical area.

E Group, Dendrobium

The study of this genus in Chinese history dates back to the Southern Qi Dynasty. Tao Hongjing (456-536), an important political figure and intellectual, added entries on medicaments made from Dendrobium to the ‘Shennong Ben Cao Jing’, which is an ancient Chinese book on agriculture and medicinal plants. During the Ming Dynasty, the renowned physician and pharmacologist, Li Shizhen(1518-1593), also recorded the medicinal properties of this orchid in his book ‘Compendium of Materia Medica’. The classical Chinese name for Dendrobium was “gold hairpin Dendrobium” due to its long stem.

♦ Scientific name：Dendrobium is derived from the Greek ‘dendron’ (tree) and ‘bios’ (life) since members of this genus grow on trees.

♦ Nomenclature：the two sepals also form the shape of a person’s chin, one of the most prominent traits of this orchid.

♦ Place of origin：Found throughout Asia and Oceania – Southeast Asia, India, and the Himalayas; as far north as Japan, as far south as Australia and New Zealand, and as far east as Tahiti; There are more than 2,000 native species in the sympodial and epiphytic genus.

F Group, Oncidium

Members of this genus are also called “dancing-lady orchids” for their flower shape being like girls whirling in graceful postures and petals being like waving train.

♦ Scientific name: Oncidium is derived from the Greek ‘onkos’ (swelling) and ‘eidos’ (shape) due to the callus on its lower lip.

♦ Nomenclature: Named for its elegant bearing that speaks to the heart without words.

♦ Place of origin: Distributed throughout tropical regions in Mexico, Bolivia, and Brazil; the genus is primarily composed of sympodial epiphytes and a few terrestrial species; there are more than 300 native species.